France

Contents

There are four physical network operators (MNOs) in France which are listed according to history and their number of subscribers:

Orange (by France Télécom)

SFR (by Numericable)

Bouygues Télecom

Free Mobile (by Iliad)

Other providers are virtual mobile operators (MVNOs) or other resellers of the MNOs. You will notice, that prices for data on prepaid are somewhat higher in France than in most other European nations. This is because many locals prefer contracts (called forfaits, see below) to prepaid SIM cards. Unfortunately, most operators ban foreigners from subscribing to a contract. You'll need to have a French payment system for it. That's why the contracts of many providers like Simyo, Be&You, Sosh, Virgin and those of most MNOs which give better data rates can't be listed here as we don't list options which are inaccessible to foreigners.

2G (= GSM, GPRS, EDGE) is on 900 and 1800 MHz, 3G (= UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+ and DC-HSPA+) is on 900 and 2100 MHz. According to the telecom authority (l'ARCEP), Orange and SFR both cover 99 % of the population, Bouygues is at 97% and Free Mobile at about 78% of the population (not counting the roaming agreement with Orange). In practice, France has a 3G coverage in urban areas and most parts of the countryside. Some rural places with few inhabitants may only have EDGE.

Some small rural places purposes "F-CONTACT" network which is a common network 2G/3G for the four operator in countryside. if you have access to it they are no addittional fees.

Uptodate coverage maps in 2G, 3G and 4G provided by the network operators can be found here:

(Until 2017, SFR and Bouygues will merge their network on semi-rural & rural part of France)

The four MNOs have rolled out their 4G/LTE nationwide. Orange and SFR both use LTE bands on 800 MHz in the countryside and on 2600 MHz in the cities. Bouygues runs on 1800 MHz and now on 2600 MHz too. Free only covers the some cities on 2600 MHz. In summer 2015 Orange has the best LTE coverage with 76% and LTE+ in 17 cities, closely followed by Bouygues with 72%, SFR with 53% and Free with 33%.

While Orange and SFR allow access to their new 4G LTE networks only to certain tariff lines, Bouygues has opened all its tariffs to 4G without surcharge and Free markets 4G heavily as its backbone.

Activating a SIM card on a network can take up to 48 hours. You will need to show a photo ID at point of purchase to activate SIM cards in France, as it is a legal requirement. A passport or driving licence usually suffice.

This French particularity called "forfait sans engagement" = rolling contract or auto-renewing monthly offer is featured in the following articles and needs some explanation for non-French visitors. A rolling contract is a kind of hybrid tariff between pre- and post-paid: You pay in advance and have cost control like prepay, but you have to enable an automatically recurring payment system. This can be linked e.g. to a French bank account or sometimes to an international credit card. But the contract can be terminated at any time by free will.

These rolling contracts normally give you a much better rate for data in France than regular prepaid cards. The problem is the payment system that is often not accessible to foreigners without French credit cards or bank accounts. Creating a French payment system will set you back more than 40 EUR. To draw a line here, offers which are confirmed to have been purchased at least by a single non-French payment system are shown while providers requiring French-only requisites are taken off the list. Please have this in mind, when you add an offer, that it needs to be accessible for foreigners too!

The French section has been restructured to be in line with other countries. The first part consists of the four MNOs in the order described above. This is followed in the 2nd part by all resellers, MVNOs or other providers listed in alphabetical order. The last part is devoted to rental agencies, again sorted in alpha order, who rent SIM cards, routers or other devices for those travellers who prefer to rent.

Orange S.A., formerly France Télécom S.A. is a French multinational telecommunications corporation. Back in history, France Télécom was the French public operator. Nowadays its still the market leader with the best coverage and most subcribers. 4G/LTE is now accessible for prepaid.

This is the Orange prepaid SIM card that allows making calls, sending SMS and internet usage in 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE (at least for new Mobicarte Plus subscribers).

You can buy Orange prepaid Mobicarte SIM online from sites like http://mobipassport.com or velonomad.com, although this can be more expensive. But on the other hand you get your number before you depart and your card activated to use your service as soon as you arrive.

To buy a SIM from an Orange Boutique (store locator) in France for 3.90 EUR, you must bring your drivers license or passport to register. The bonus of that is that the card will work straight away and has 5 EUR credit. If you buy from anywhere else, you will have to send in a copy of your ID and it can take several days to be able to access data.

Dialing #123# for the first time gives you a menu of options on the Welcome / Information ("Accueil") screen. Here you see some options with offers, an entry to access a sort of account overview / usage ("suivi conso"), one to enter Mobicarte top-up codes called recharges ("recharger"), and finally where you manage your account's features ("Mon espace"). If you don't know French, it can be a bit daunting as it seems every menu presents options you can purchase. It is definitely over-complicated, just as every French site. To add credit to your SIM, buy one of the classic recharge vouchers "Les recharges classiques" from a tabac shop, magazine shop, or grocery store (the big ones like Monoprix, Franprix, etc. should have them). These are common everywhere, including airports and train stations (at CDG international terminal, you can buy them at the Relay newspaper stand at the RER-B station). To add credit, dial #123# then find the "recharger" option and enter the 14-digit code.

Orange restricts the maximum speed attainable on Mobicarte to 384 kbps downstream. If high speeds are important to you, it may be better to look at SFR or Orange's prepaid mobile broadband offer ("Let's Go") which does not have this limitation and allows 4G/LTE access.

If you plan on going to a Boutique to buy a SIM, you can purchases these packs there too. It is recommended that you load the recharge options page on your phone beforehand so you can show them exactly what you want. Some stores have employees who are not familiar with the packs or may not even know that data is available for pre-paid so it is helpful to show them the site, particularly if your French is not very good.

For visitors and travellers Orange offers its Orange Holiday (formerly called Mobicarte Holiday). It is sold for 39.99 EUR and is valid for 14 days including:

2 hours of international calls from anywhere in Europe to anywhere in the world

1000 international SMS from anywhere in Europe to anywhere in the world

1 GB data within Europe (EU/EEA countries)

Unlimited Orange Wi-Fi in France

If you still got an old active Mobicarte or need a recharge, they offer a recharge Orange Holiday for 20 EUR including 1 hour of EU calls, 500 interntl. SMS unlimited Orange Wi-Fr and 500 MB data, all vaild for another 14 days. Line stays active for another 6 months thereafter.

This data plan is for mobile phones and may or may not work on other gear. If you're interested in data for a WIFI hotspot or dongle, you would be better off with the Let's Go option (see below). P2P, VoIP and USENET are specifically banned. VOIP services will fail to initialize properly. There's risk getting your plan cancelled as well as the loss of any call credit remaining on your account if you use P2P, VoIP, or USENET services.

As for VPN, it may or may not work. There are examples when VPN worked, one of them is OpenVPN 2.1.1 on Windows 7 and VPN on iPhone worked in July 2012.

Supposedly you are to be notified by SMS as soon as it is activated but I have never received this in the 5 years I've had my SIM. The safest way to confirm an option is active is by looking at your account online .

Mobicarte SIM card credits expire after some time if no recharge is applied during that period. After registering your SIM for the first time and topping it up with credits, the SIM number will stay in operation for max. 6 months. You can check the expiration date online when you create an account, but you will probably also get an SMS stating the expiration date. If you'd like to keep your number active, add a small amount of credit before the expiration date and it'll be extended another 6 months.

Expiration of recharge credits depends on the amount. Also, recharge codes have a time limit before they must be used. For example, 10 EUR electronic recharge should be activated (i.e. added to account) within 15 days of purchase.

Tethering / WIFI-hotspot is not included in data usage (tested on iPhone and Android Galaxy 4S). iPhone will NOT allow tethering, and you are redirected to a purchase page (25 € for 1 GB, 30 days) if you try to enable it. The page must be accessed over cellular and not WIFI.

It is possible to achieve tethering on Android devices by using the WIFI hotspot in conjunction with a proxy app, e.g. proxy server by Ice Cold Apps. The use of a 3rd party tethering app on an Android phone, or a jailbroken iPhone may just get you around this.

Let's Go is a data-SIM only offer from Orange France. It is designed to be used in a tablet, portable WIFI hotspot (MiFi) or USB dongle. SIM cards are available from Orange Boutiques throughout France (locator above). Just ask for the 'Pochette prêt à surfer'. They will want to know what device you will use it in and what size you require. Starter pack costs € 14.90 and includes 2 GB valid for one month. At the time of purchase in the boutique, you will need to provide a passport or driving licence which is a requirement under French law. It takes on average 24 hours to fully update the system with your details and during that time you will not be able to top up. However the original data allowance will work as soon as you walk out of the shop.

There are three values of recharges for domestic data and one for EU/EEA roaming data.

Value

Data

Time

10 EUR

1 GB

14 days

25 EUR

3 GB

31 days

40 EUR

5 GB

6 months

20 EUR

500 MB (EU Roaming)

7 days

All packages include unlimited Orange WI-FI from hotspots in France and 30 TV channels debited on the data volume. With Let's go, Orange lets you join their 4G/LTE network on high speed.

To obtain a recharge you must again visit the Orange Boutique and ask for a rechargement por Let's Go sim. There may be some faffing about whilst they work out amongst themselves exactly what you want, but show them your SIM or documentation with your Orange internet number and they will soon get there. Often they will print out a sheet of paper for you which contains a telephone number for you to ring to activate the top up and a 14 digit top up number.

Topping up is also possible online once your new SIM card has been fully registered (go to the 'mon espace' section on the orange.fr website to set up your account). This seems to be possible for non-French credit cards as well.

It is also possible to top up using vouchers for the standard PAYG telephone service called Mobicarte. You can then convert the account balance online to Let's Go packages. The Orange site is far from user friendly, so this is not recommended unless you are well versed in French. Let's Go top-ups are often available on eBay and may well prove to be a good option for you to save messing about in shops upon arrival. But you will pay a premium for this option in so much as you will be paying extra for the time of the seller to obtain the vouchers etc. Note, you can also buy pre-activated Let's Go SIM cards on eBay.

The Let's Go SIM card does not allow the use of Peer to Peer downloads eg. Torrents, or the use of some binary newsgroups . However for email, browsing and almost everything else it works just fine. You can receive SMS on your SIM which can be viewed in the control panel for your device, but the option to send SMS will not be available.

Orange sells it's own portable 3G WIFI hotspot called a Domino. Currently it's a Huawei E5331. This allows you to set up wifi for multiple device, i.e. to get around the issue of not being able to tether with the Mobicarte, and means you don't need to set up data service on your phone. Cost is 44.90 EUR for the device + 500 MB valid for a month Recharge options with "Let's Go" vouchers. It seems the SIM card stays valid for one year, vs. 6 months for the Mobicarte.

Authentication: the blurb inside says you need to provide authentication, i.e. fill in a form and send a photocopy of a passport to Orange. If you buy from an Orange boutique, they should activate it for you. If you get it from elsewhere, then you will have to mail off copies of your ID docs. The device is locked to Orange France and won't be of much use elsewhere unless you get it unlocked, but for less than one Euro you will be able to purchase an unlock code on Ebay.

In order to top up by phone, call 0800 224 from a mobile or landline. Free from Orange lines, a fee may be charged from others. You will be immediately asked by a female voice in French to enter your Orange number. This is the telephone number assigned to your SIM and normally begins with 06 or 07.

You will then be presented with two options, the first to top up by credit card. Ignore this, the second option is to top up using voucher. Press 2 on your keypad. The same voice will ask you for your 14-digit voucher number. Enter that and depending on which service you got connected to, you may have the number read back to you with the option to confirm or try again.

You will then have a confirmation in the same voice but with a triumphant timbre to it. The process should take about 30 seconds from start to finish. The top up should then be applied to your SIM and you will be ready to go.

You will automatically have an account created for you on the orange.fr website, you can log into your account using the SIM telephone number. Once done, you can edit your personal information, email address etc. You can even set up an Orange France email address if you like. It is important to note that you cannot top up online using a credit card that is not registered in France. But you can buy top-ups in the boutique using foreign cards.

SFR is the 2nd largest network in France and the biggest rival of Orange. It used to belong to Vivendi, but has been sold to the cable company Numericable. It has good coverage nationwide in 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE similar to Orange. SFR is the local partner of Vodafone in France. 4G/LTE is not accessible for prepaid yet, but only to rolling contracts.

Their prepaid SIM is simply called la Carte. The starter pack called “Kit SFR la Carte” is available online to be send to a French postal address or at their shops (shop locator). The start-up price is normally 9.99 EUR, sometimes discounted in promotions, but it comes without credit in mini, micro or nano size.

When you buy it in their shops, let them activate it there showing your photo ID. Bought online or at other shops, you can activate it on their website or by calling 963 for free (in French only).

Recharges can be bought at many places like bureaux de tabac, Relay and big chains like Auchan, Carrefour, Leclers, FNAC. They can be bought online too, but you need at least an European credit card with a chip for payment. For an English recharge menu call 958. But it’s best to purchase your recharges at the automated top-up terminals in some SFR shops. Otherwise it may take up to 24 hours until the recharge actually is activated.

Like Orange and Bouygues, they have a tourist SIM for visitors. It’s sold for 24.99 EUR in total (that is 9.99 for the SIM and 15 EUR for a special top-up called Welcome recharge), is valid for 10 days and preloaded with:

1 hour of voice to France and Europe, the US and China

500 SMS to France and Europe, the US and China

500 MB of domestic data

Unlimited SFR WIFI

All the recharges whether Ilimitées, Internet or Welcome can be renewed anytime to get more data or validity. No tethering or use in modems allowed, strictly for smartphones. The free WIFI must be subscribed once by calling 963 for free.

SFR offers a prepaid data-only SIM for tablets and modems too. The starter kit is called “Kit prêt à surfer SIM standard”. It only comes in regular size SIM, but these can be cut. It’s sold for 9.90 EUR with 200 MB valid for 15 days.

It can be recharged with the “SFR Connecté Partout prepayée” vouchers:

3 EUR: 200 MB, 1 day

10 EUR: 1 GB, 7 days

35 EUR: 4 GB, 30 days

These recharges must be bought in the shops and loaded on the card on your SFR account online. Speed is up to DC-HSPA and 42 Mbps in 3G. Data is cut off when reached quota.

SFR also offers cheaper “forfaits sans engagement” = rolling contracts (see Basics above) for data in modems, routers or tablets. They can be terminated anytime. Unlike prepaid, they have access to 4G/LTE with speeds up to 115 Mbps. Free unlimited WIFI is included after calling 963.

The starter pack for “SFR Connecté Partout forfait sans engagement” is sold for 1 EUR only in their stores, when you make the rolling contract. You can add one of these three packages:

The problem is like always that SFR likes to see a French credit card or bank account linked to it, though some SFR shops are willing to mark your payment method as "other" to allow you to come in and pay by cash or credit card in person. With international cards they accept at least American Express credit cards on your name as a confirmed payment method. If you only have a Visa or MasterCard from out of the country, your only option is to pay in store; for foreign cards paying over the phone is only possible with AmEx and not at all online.

Cancellation is not as easy as previously said; it is not possible online, you must call SFR customer service at 1023 (domestic landline or SFR mobile) or +33610001023 (from overseas). Wait for two French voice prompts, press 3 for tablets/mobile internet, press 4 for termination, press 2 to be directed to a SFR customer service person (whose English ability will be hit or miss). The cancellation process should take less than an hour, though instead of cancelling straight away the line will be set to automatically cancel in the next few days. It is advised to provide your address overseas as any refund of excess charges will be mailed in the form of a cheque. The dedicated English-language customer service line is only for La Carte customers.

Bouygues Télécom is the 3rd largest network operator in France. Unlike the other players, its 4G/LTE is mainly on 1800 MHz, 2600 MHz and 800 MHz which is open for all prepaid users without surcharge (coverage map.) Their old prepaid card Formule 20/20 has been discontinued in January 2015. They now only sell Card XL and Classique prepaid SIMs. The classic line doesn't include data. So it's not mentioned any further.

Their prepaid line is available in their stores (store locator) with 12 months validity after the last top-up. Starter pack is sold for 10 € with around 4 € credit for calls. It can be topped by these three packs.

20 €: including unlimited domestic text and voice, 500 MB data and 10 € for international calls, valid for 30 days

40€: including unlimited domestic text and voice, 2 GB data and 25€ for international calls, valid for two months

All packages include 4G/LTE speed, unlimited domestic calls and domestic texts. The bonus credit can be used for international calling. Recharging of 10 € or 20 € can be done online, by calling 630 or by buying a prepaid card in stores (e.g. 'tabac') in France. Be aware that the 2 € reload can only be topped up by a French credit card which must be added online or by calling 630. International credit cards do not work.

When topped up after the validity of the old package has expired, the new top up will be effective right away giving more validity. So you can topup 4 times 2 € for 2 days each and get 2 GB data for 8 € in a week (but only top up after 2 days or when the 500 MB data has been used, it does not add up). They give a bonus of 10 € for top-ups of more then 50 € within two consecutive months.

All of their other options are not accessible to foreigners without a French bank card or account.

Free Mobile is the smallest network and still in the process of growing up: as of January 2015, the 3G coverage is above 75% of population whereas all of its other competitors cover 98+% of population. But as Free Mobile both uses the Orange network as a roaming network for 3G data, texts and voice and its own, the service is equal to Orange's and 3G speed is reported to be even faster than their competitors.

Free Mobile also offers 4G/LTE, but their network is the smallest right now with a low coverage (~50% of population). Take care: in their offers, you have plenty of data on their 4G plan, which is only activated if a 4G/LTE 2600 MHz enabled device is detected, if not you will only have 3 GB of data. Free mobile is not roaming on the 4G LTE network from Orange, roaming only applies to their 2G and 3G networks.

Free Mobile owns a 15 Mhz band of 2600 MHz spectrum, allowing a theoretical 4G speed of 150 Mbps with compatible devices (LTE cat4). Download speed of 140+ Mbps have been reported. To cut a long story short: Free Mobile is a very good option if you have a LTE 2600 MHz enabled device, if not, their 3G plan is not so cheap.

Free Mobile offers two rolling contracts ("forfait sans engagement") one for 2.00 EUR per month and another for 19.99 EUR per month that can be terminated anytime by free will. They can't be suspended temporarily. All Free packages include:

2 hours (2 EUR pack) or unlimited (20 EUR package) of calls to France and landlines of lot of countries and mobile lines of a few countries;

The 2 EUR plan includes a mere 50 MB of data (thereafter charged at 5 ct per MB which equates to 50 EUR/GB), while the 20 EUR plan provides 3 GB of data in 3G (Orange roaming + Free network); or 20 GB of data in 3G (Orange + Free) and 4G (Free only) if a compatible 4G device is detected (you can check the effective data allowance in your account);

automatic connection to EAP-SIM WiFi networks "Freewifi_Secure", emitted by all the set top boxes of the operator (more than 5M hotspots);

on the 20 EUR plan only: "Pass Destination": unlimited call + text roaming (to France and the roaming country), and 3 GB of 3G roaming data (debited from your national allowance) in all of the EU and Canada for max. 35 days per calendar annum. This makes it to one of the best roaming options of the French market.

Tethering is allowed. The SIM comes ready for all phones/dongles (micro + mini). A nano SIM is on offer when you order online or within stores.

Free Mobile mobile is a contract without commitment: no fines for cancelling early and no activation fees. All credit/debit cards, not limited to French issued ones, should function fine - though this is contested by some forum users. (Automatic direct debit on a French bank account is also possible, as well as some other countries).

Be aware that you sign a contract in France with Free that needs to be terminated later unlike the other prepaid offers on this WIKI. To cancel the contract, you have to write a letter with your name, number and termination date to: Free Mobile, Résiliation, 75371 PARIS Cedex 08.

Starting from 2014, it is also possible to buy a one month only (and not rolling) SIM from their automated vending machines in Free stores (see below), so you won't have to worry about cancellation after your leave. This SIM card is strictly for one month only without any way to extend. You have basically two ways to get these prepaid SIMs :

They can be ordered online to be sent to a French postal address, or at brick and mortar locations which can be found in Paris and other locations throughout France called "Free Centers". Default online payment is with bank account details. To pay by debit card, under 'paiement de votre commande' on the right hand side, under the box there is a link which says "payer par carte bancaire". It will then change the box to one that allows you to enter the details of any card. Your bank may charge a transaction fee for using this.

Free also provides a SIM distribution circuit trough completely automated machines located both in their "Free center" stores and "Mag press" shops (map). You just need a debit card to use them, and you can get SIM within 2 minutes, very conveniently. There is an additional fee of 10 EUR to cover SIM issue charge and ATM maintenance though. This adds up to 29.99 EUR for the 19 EUR package and 12 EUR for the 2 EUR package. More than 898 machines are available as of January 2015. They sell both rolling contracts and one-month plans. Be sure to get the correct SIM for your phone because reissuing the SIM costs 5 €. Out-of-France credit cards are accepted.

La Poste Mobile is the MVNO of the French Postal System called La Poste. It uses the network of SFR in 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE (for details see SFR). It is sold in more than 10,000 postal offices (bureaux de poste) throughout the country, where you can find top-up vouchers too.

Their prepaid cards are sold in two different tariff lines called classique (classic) and international. While the international card gives better rates for international calls, it doesn't contain data. Only the classique line can be loaded with data and both lines can't be mixed. Start-up price is 9.90 € with 5 € credit included. Top-ups can be found at post offices and many press kiosks.

LeFrenchMobile managed by the Transatel group runs on the good Orange network on 2G and 3G but not 4G/LTE and it's an MVNO designed for foreigners travelling to France. Its customer service is in English, Arabic and French. Their website is also available in Russian, Japanese and German.

The SIM cards are available in 3 types (nano as well as a combined mini/micro SIM). Furthermore it is possible to buy 3G USB dongles and WiFi hotspots such as AutoBox and HomeBox with SIM cards included.

Purchase is only online via their website. Delivery is free within the European Union and €2 to the rest of the world. Payments can be made with any international Visa or MasterCard. Top-up online through their website.

EuroSIM is available for calls, texts and internet data. Purchase price is €15 which includes 2 hrs of calls to other LFM users, or 1 hr of calls in France and the rest of the EU (and many more world countries) or 171 texts. You can also get the SIM at € 30 to have more value included and benefit from their free SIM offer.

Top-up online or in Tabac shops and newsagents that sell Paysafecards. A bonus credit is given to any online top-up over € 25. Any credit for the EuroSIM has no expiry date.

These following data packages are available (for domestic use in France only):

Price

Volume

Validity

Activation

€ 5

200 MB

15 days

FR200

€ 15

1 GB

30 days

FR1GB

€ 38

3 GB

30 days

FR3GB

To activate a data bundle text one of the codes above to 22213. European Data bundles are also offered (see European Union section).

Technical settings

APN (for Data SIM): mobiledata

APN (for Euro SIM): netgprs.com

Username and password: tsl

Additional Information

SIM cards have a 'Refer a Friend' scheme which can get an existing client and a new client credit € 20 bonus credit to share. To do this send an email with both names and numbers to info@lefrenchmobile.com within 14 days of the sale of the new SIM card

Though their prices may be higher than SIM cards bought within the country, their products can be ordered from overseas and will be delivered already activated to any foreign postal address. Arriving in France, they can be used right away without having to activate them first.

Lebara mobile is a British-based MVNO with operations in several countries. In France, they resell Bouygues Télécom's service in 2G and 3G only. The website and customer service are available for a change in both French and English, making it a good choice for those with limited French language skills.

Lebara mobile SIM cards can be ordered free of charge through Lebara's website, mailed to a French postal address. Some users report that after a delay of 1-2 weeks, they may be mailed to a foreign address too, if it is typed into the online form. Alternatively, they can be purchased for 10 EUR (including 5 EUR of credit) from many French tabacs (tobacconists and kiosks), including the Relay outlets for instance at CDG airport. Print-your-own Eurostar tickets include a voucher for a free SIM with € 1 of credit and 100 MB in a couple of shops at the Gare du Nord station in Paris. Recharges are available through the same channels or by international credit card online. The SIM is a dual-cut standard and micro SIM, nano SIMs are available on request. Credit lasts from 30-90 days depending top-up amount. SIM cards that have not been used or topped up for 90 days will expire.

New SIM cards must be activated by providing an email address, phone number, and ID number (e.g passport). Foreign details are accepted. SIM cards ordered online and received on mail will be pre-activated as the phone company has these details from the online form. SIMs bought from a shop can be activated by calling 2333 from your phone. This activation should be instant. You can select English on the voice menu (option 2). When you activate your SIM you are requested for your name, passport number and address. You can ask on the same call to buy your data package or any additional asistance.

You can order your SIM card from an existing member through the links below and get the SIM card for free (instead of 1 € in physical stores) plus a 5 € credit. The member also receives 5 €. Delivery takes about 2 to 3 days to a French postal address. For international addreses just enter your city and country in the "city" field. The SIM will be posted with both your country and "France" in the address, but will be delivered to the correct address. For European Union countries delivery takes about 7-10 days.

Here are links. (Contributors to this page are encouraged to add additional links below the existing links for a healthier proposition.) Readers are encouraged to pick a link randomly:

Lycamobile is the biggest competitor of Lebara (see above) on the ethno market from Britain. It has a very similar prepaid offer like Lebara and acts as a MVNO on Bouygues Télécom's network in 2G and 3G too. The website and customer service are available in both French and English, making it a good choice for those with limited French language skills. Lycamobile actively blocks tethering from iPhones as well as Android phones and also 3G modems. The only way to use Lycamobile is on a smartphone.

Lycamobile SIM cards can be ordered free of charge through Lycamobile's website, mailed to a French postal address. Alternatively, they can be purchased from many French tabacs (tobacconists and kiosks) and chain stores including Relay, Monoprix, Carrefour and others (store locator). Recharges are available through the same channels or by international credit card online. PIN codes need to be entered in your phone like this: *131*<PIN>#. The SIM is a dual-cut mini and micro SIM, nano SIMs are available on request. Credit lasts from 30-90 days depending top-up amount. SIM cards that have not been used or topped up for 90 days will expire.

New SIM cards must be activated by calling 323 (in French) from your phone or online here (in English) providing a mail address, phone number, and ID number (e.g. passport).

Virgin Mobile started in France 2007 as a MVNO on Orange. It used to roam on SFR and Bouygues in the meantime. In 2014 it was acquired by Numericable who also owns SFR network. From 2015 on it solely uses SFR’s network. 4G/LTE is not opened for prepaid yet, but for contracts and coverage is only at 50% in 2015 (see SFR above).

Virgin Mobile sells prepaid cards with inflated prices for data and much cheaper contracts (forfaits) which can or cannot be suspended (forfaits sans engagement, forfaits bloqués). Unfortunately, all forfaits remain inaccessible to foreigners who don’t have a French bank card or account. For this you need to live in France. This is why we don’t list their contracts. This exclusive policy was confirmed by their customer support in 2015. Anyone who can get a contract (not a prepaid card) without a French payment system, will please report this to us.

Data outside of packages is 0.10 € per MB. For every recharge you get a certain data allowance depending on the tariff line which you have chosen.

Recharge

Illimiday

Very Long

Very Much

€ 5

50 MB - 50 days

50 MB - 50 days

n.a.

€ 10

100 MB - 15 days

100 MB - 30 days

100 MB - 15 days

€ 20

200 MB - 30 days

200 MB - 90 days

300 MB - 30 days

€ 30

300 MB - 30 days

300 MB - 180 days

500 MB - 45 days

€ 50

500 MB - 30 days

500 MB - 1 year

1 GB - 60 days

Recharge vouchers are available at their stores and a lot of other outlets. Online top-up is available too for French bank cards. Because of their inflated prices, you should better turn somewhere else.

They provide access through a Mifi router called "miniBox" establishing a Wi-Fi connection. Up to 10 devices can be connected on a 4G/LTE connection in France. The miniBox is delivered within three hours by express anywhere in Paris, in two days anywhere in France. After the rental, it need to be returned by mail.

Rental Period

Price

1 month

€ 150

1 week

€ 50

1 day

€ 10

Standard delivery is 6 €, by express 9 €. Internet plan comes with a FUP of 1 GB per day. Beyond this limit you can still use the service without any additional fees but it will be throttled. MiniBox has a minimum autonomy of 6 hours in intensive use.

Bienvenue has a partnership with Bouygues Télécom and uses their network in 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE. For coverage information, please refer to Bouygues above.

Cellhire offers a data SIM card for France for rental (as well as for other countries). It's a 4G French data SIM card with 3 GB or 6 GB of data on a 30 day rolling contract on the Orange network (for coverage see Orange above). When the data bundle runs out, the speed is reduced but you can continue to use data at no extra charge.

3 GB, 30 days rolling rental contract: £29.99

6 GB, 30 days rolling rental contract: £64.99

A 3G MiFi device can be added for £10 or a 4G MiFi device for £19. You'll need to pay £10 in advance as a refundable deposit.

Delivery is available to the UK for £4.99 and includes return delivery. To other countries, rates may be higher, check with them. The 30-day rolling contract continues until you return the MiFi with SIM card.

Dataroam provides an international SIM card rental service in France (as well as in other countries). They sell French data SIM cards which give data for a period of 30 days on a rolling contract basis on the Orange network. There is an additional £10 set up fee. The data plan cannot be used in a smartphone without heavy surcharges, but only in tablets, Mifis and dongles.

Moxx rents out mobile WIFI hotspots (4G Mifis) on a short term basis for travellers in France (from 3 days up to 6 months) with internet access. Their Mifi is only 9 * 6 cm of size and allows to connect up to 10 devices. You can order online via www.moxx.fr .

They've got 2 offers: the first one with 4G speed and a 20 GB limit (after which speed will be throttled) for a flat rate at 6.99 € per rental day. The second one with 4G+ speed and a 50 GB limit in France and 3 GB roaming data in Europe for 9.99 € per day.

Rental Period

Plan A

Plan B

1 month

€ 131

€ 186

2 weeks

€ 69

€ 98

1 day

€ 6.99

€ 9.99

Delivery is by mail within France, takes up to three days and is free if you rent for at least one week, otherwise for 7 €, rendez-vous delivery within Paris for 9 € or by express (means same day delivery) for 24 €. Return is by mail in an insured, prepaid and registered envelope.

Moxx connection uses the network of Bouygues Télécom (coverage see above) in up to 4G where available and allows VoIP. Their internet has a Fair Use Policy of 20 GB or 50 GB (for the rental period) after which speed will be throttled to GPRS speed.

Clients can order online on my-webspot.com. The hotspot including SIM card can be delivered everywhere in Europe in 24 hours, or customers can stop by MY WEBSPOT office next to Madeleine area in Paris. Standard delivery in France is 7€, to or from Europe 15 €, to and from Europe 25 € and by express in Paris for 25 €.

The 3G hotspot can be shared by up to 5 devices and battery lasts for 6 hours. On the 4G hotspot 10 devices can share for 8 hours. My Webspot uses the Bouygues Télécom network in up to 3G or 4G/LTE depending on plan.

A prepaid envelope is given for the return and can be used from everywhere in France or Europe. A deposit of 60 € for a 3G device and 120 € for a 4G device is debited on your credit card, if you don't return the device.

The fares are flat:

500 MB/day

1GB/day

"Unlimited" data

"Unlimited" data

in France

in France

in France

in "Europe"

5 € per day

7.5 € per day

9 € per day

10 € per day

max. 3G+

max. 4G/LTE

max. 4G/LTE

max. 4G/LTE

FUP for the "unlimited" plan in France is 32 GB for rentals below 20 days and 50 GB above. For the "unlimited" "Europe" plan its 10 GB in "Europe" plus 10 GB in France for rentals below 15 days and 20 GB in "Europe" and 20 GB in France above. Speed will be throttled beyond. Note that "Europe" covers EU and EEA countries only.

To rent the mobile hotspot, book it on their website. The hotspot is delivered via regular mail in France to any French postal address for 6 € or by courier services within Paris for 10 € and 25 € in the rest of France. Clients can also choose to pick up their device at Travel Wifi's office in Paris city center themselves. Once you have received your hotspot, the connection is unlimited in up to 4G speed! The WiFi signal can be shared with up to 10 devices at the same time. The return is in a provided prepaid envelope, that you need to drop in a mailbox to conclude the rental.

They have charges according to the rental duration. Here are some price quotes: